Palm Trees

When the seedlings from the heat bed are a few months old they are potted into a 3" plastic tube and placed in boxes in a shadehouse with 70% shadecloth. If the seedlings are from cold, dry climates like European fans and Rhapis ,they are put into a waterproof shadehouse so they are not too wet and do not suffer from fungal damage. Sub tropical Nth NSW is often too wet for cold tolerant palms in the summer and not warm enough for tropical palms to germinate during winter. hence the waterproof shadehouse and the heat bed. During the time the palms grow in these tubes they are fed with slow release fertiliser like Osmocote.

The seedlings spend a year in these tubes then they are repotted into a 200mm (8") pot, fertilised with a small amount of Nitraphoska blue (cheaper than Osmocote) and returned to 70% shadecloth. After a year or two, depending on the growth of the palm species and the need to replace stock, these plants are repotted into 45Litre bags and placed in full sun and fertilised with a moderate handful of Nitraphoska. On average the palm will be 40 cms to 1m tall at this stage.

Some palms, cold tolerant ones like Chinese windmills, do better being potted into 45 lt bags and placed in the sun during winter in their growth season when the direct sun is milder. In reverse Golden Canes prefer being repotted and placed in full sun during summer.

The palms need to spend at least two years growing and sometimes four or five years before they are ready for sale. During this time they are fertilised each growing season with Nitraphoska blue or a similar product and occassionally sprayed overhead with liquid seaweed. If scale occurs during summer they will be sprayed through the overhead irrigation system with insecticide. Glysophate is also used to control weeds on and around the palms ( palms tolerate glysophate). Some palms like Bangalows and Foxtails need to have their dead fronds removed because mealey bug live here and they will damage the plant. other insects do minor damage but they are not sprayed for because we have to work around the palms every day.

When an order for palms comes in by phone or email the plants are collected from the paddock and trucked to the loading shed where they are individually cleaned of dead fronds, checked for scale and other insects,topped up with soil if necessary, given some fertiliser and watered.

GT Nursery Freighters carry our palms north to the Gold Coast and Brisbane and an order of plants usually takes two to six days from ordering to your door,there is a basic order of 3 palms starting at $13 per palm for cartage. Going south to Sydney we use various carriers and the basic order is one pallet which will hold up to 9 palms. A J Flynns carry our palms to Melbourne and also the basic order is one pallet. A J Flynns sell plants from their depot in Melbourne and they will stock our palms, a single palm can be purchased. Delivery to Sydney and Melbourne may take may take from a few days to 10 days depending on trucking timetables.

Sincerely Palms Online.